Coulthard takes pole position

David Coulthard conjured up a stunning late lap to snatch the vital pole position for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

Coulthard took his first pole in Monte Carlo in the dying seconds of the qualifying session to thwart title rival Michael Schumacher.

Coulthard finished 0.2 seconds ahead of the German who must have through he had bagged his sixth pole in seven races this season.

World champion Schumacher, who leads the world championship by four points, was unable to respond after being forced to park-up his car in a run-off area when he still had one lap left.

Coulthard's McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen was third fastest with Rubens Barrichello fourth in the other Ferrari.

Ralf Schumacher took fifth spot in the Williams-BMW while Eddie Irvine was an excellent sixth fastest for Jaguar Racing - the first time he has qualified in the top 10 this season.

Jenson Button was 17th for Benetton to end a run of three successive races in which he has started from 21st spot as his car showed the first signs of improving.

It was Monaco-based Coulthard's second pole of the season and the 12th of his career and comes just hours after fellow Scot Jackie Stewart backed him to win the world title.

The Twynholm-born racer now has a great chance of claiming a second successive victory in Monaco and scoring back-to-back wins for the first time in his career following his victory in Austria a fortnight ago.

Coulthard could be leading the championship tomorrow night but cannot write off Schumacher who has won the race four times in the past six years.

Schumacher had been bottom of the time sheets when his first run was ruined by the Arrows of Jos Verstappen, but responded to go top.

But just when he was about to start celebrating another pole, the three-time champion had to submit as Coulthard forced his Mercedes-powered car around the tight and twisting streets.